University of Iowa Department of Internal Medicine

Advances in Diabetes and Obesity Management, 5/10/19

This annual CME event was revived in 2016, and for its fourth since that revival, organizers have continued to innovate the day-long symposium’s content. Because diabetes intersects with, and even causes, so many other conditions, conference directors opened the floor to more presenters than just endocrinologists and dietitians, though of course their expertise was welcome as well.

The day began with a presentation from Antonio Sanchez, MD, associate professor in Gastroenterology and Hepatology. Sanchez focused on the overlap between nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and obesity. He was followed by a keynote from Rekha Kumar, MD, MS, assistant professor of medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine. Kumar covered both the history and trajectory of obesity as an epidemic in addition to its pathogenesis and effects.

Following a short break, urologist Amy Pearlman, MD, delivered a lively and engaging presentation on the impact of diabetes and obesity on men’s sexual health. Near the end of her information-rich talk, Pearlman presented a 30-second script allowing every provider in the room a discomfort-free way of broaching these concerns with men they see in their clinics. Endocrinologist Marcelo Correia, MD, MSC, PhD, detailed a variety of concerns that providers may encounter in their care for people who are considering or have undergone any type of bariatric surgery.

After lunch in the sunny MERF Atrium, education resumed. Fellow in maternal-fetal medicine Sarah Wernimont, MD, PhD, and ARNP Rhonda Fruhling, MS, MHCDS, CDE, covered controversies and best practices in general and case-based specifics of helping women manage diabetes when they are pregnant or considering becoming pregnant. Brian O’Neill, MD, PhD, followed with a look at some of the updates in medical management of diabetes.

Conference organizer Yumi Imai, MD, filled in the next slot for ophthalmologist Michael Abramoff, MD, PhD, inventor of the first artificial-intelligence screening procedure to detect the presence of diabetic retinopathy. Imai, who is the first clinician in University of Iowa Health Care to implement the procedure in her clinics, described how the algorithm works and how providers can trust its results and where the human factor is still required. Following Imai, Correia returned with some interactive case studies, demonstrating with a range of complex scenarios how care and management of particular situations might proceed.

Congratulations to the course directors, conference organizers, and staff who made this “fourth” annual event such a success.